Construction in China

I told myself that I would refrain from discussing building construction in Barbados.  However, the recent earthquake China, especially the deaths of thousands of students and their teachers in the 6,900 school buildings that were destroyed is heartbreaking.  Listen to Lin Qiang, the Deputy Inspector of the Sichuan Education Department:

 

“I have witnessed an appalling tragedy this time. It has had an enormous impact on my soul. From that moment on, I can not bear any buck-passing on the protection of life. With so many young lives taken away, so many families broken, we wouldn’t be qualified to be human beings, not to mention educators, if we didn’t value life over politics and bureacracy, if we officials still tried to avoid responsibility and protect ourselves.”

Lin Qiang first arrived at Beichuan Middle School a day after it collapsed in the earthquake. He saw a parent crying over the body of her child buried under the rubble.

“There was no relief personnel. The mother had watched her child’s life going away bit by bit, but could do nothing about it. The child died four hours before I arrived there. The parent had been crying, mumbling that her child was very good at school.”

Lin wanted to give her all the money he brought with him, but she refused, saying that it was useless.

“I felt guilty. Although I held no direct responsibility for the tragedy, I felt guilty from the bottom of my heart towards that child, and towards the parent, ” Lin said.

He refused to regard the earthquake as just a natural disaster.

 

“It is a natural disaster. But natural disasters wouldn’t necessarily cause human tragedies. It’s morally lazy to blame nature for human tragedies. The child could have survived. The school building could have stood upright. Not a single student died at another school just a half mile away, because its building didn’t collapse.”

 

The reason is simple – that school was donated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and had the donor supervise its construction quality. Such a supervision mechanism was missing in most schools that collapsed during the earthquake.  He urged his colleagues to think hard about the tragedies.

“If we education administrators had fulfilled our duties and guarded against corruption, our school buildings would have stood firm and the teachers and children wouldn’t have died for no good reason. So much tragedy could have been avoided. It’s a shame that we were not able to protect our vulnerable kids from danger. We should think about it. We should not shrink from our responsibilities and glorify ourselves with a few teachers’ heroic deeds in the earthquake.”

“We have not yet studied systematically the reasons behind the collapse of school buildings till this day. We have not yet actively looked for evidence and conducted an investigation into the tragedies. We have not yet apologized to the family members of the dead. It shows that it doesn’t weigh much upon our minds to value life and to take active measures to ensure its safety.”

 

“The parents who have lost their children in the earthquake are staying in the ruins of collapsed schools with tears in their eyes day and night, looking for construction materials which could serve as evidence of malpractice. They want their children to rest in peace in heaven, but also want to prevent similar tragedies from happening to tens of thousands of children in the future.”

 

“As teachers and civil servants, we should be grateful for their effort. We should respect them and support their work. However, very few people in the education departments are willing to think this way and make such efforts. I understand that people are now very busy with various reconstruction work… However, justice needs to be done for the spirits of the deceased children, to their parents and to the whole community. If we don’t have any contemplation over such a tremendous tragedy, if we put our own honour and career success above children’s lives, how could it be possible for us to elevate our souls and reconstruct our institutions? How could we make sure similar tragedies never take place again?”

Lin Qiang has requested to hand over his opportunity to be a torchbearer for the Beijing Olympic Games as part of his redemption effort. He also suggested that the ceremonies of the Games should be adjusted against the backdrop of the earthquake.

Sources:

Article: http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/05/lin-qiang-i-felt-guilty-over-deaths-of-school-children-in-earthquake/

Photos: http://www.cryptome.cn/cn-quake2/cn-quake2.htm

Next Article: The structural condition of Barbados’ schools.

Corn Row Controversy

The recent controversy surrounding Mr Matthew Farley’s published comments on Senator Griffith’s choice of hairstyle in Parliament, and the subsequent responses, are instructive for persons offering public comment.

Mr Farley had an opinion on the matter which he submitted for publication.  Those who agreed with Mr Farley and those who disagreed also submitted their opinions for publication.  However, what is instructive is the nature of many of the responses that were unsupportive of Mr Farley’s opinion.

On national radio, terms such as: foolish, ignorant, backward thinking and the like were used to describe Mr Farley.  A sample of responses published in the national press follows.

 ”This article was not only shocking to read but indicated a mind preoccupied with superficialities and not with personal worth.” 2 March 2008

“It was a most frightening thing coming from a man who is an educator.” 15 Feb 2008

“Federal High School old boy Farley’s views on the hairstyle of new Senator Damien Griffith are frighteningly unenlightened for a shaper of young minds and I hope he does not pass on his style of argument to his students.” 16 Feb 2008

“He then tells us he understands neo-colonialism “in all its dimensions”. … Then, in the rest of the article, he proceeds to show us clearly that he indeed does not understand these things.” 16 Feb 2008

“The only leap here is Farley’s leap back into the unenlightened past. And now he gets downright ridiculous,” 16 Feb 2008

“It is a pity that in the 21st century a black man, and an educator at that, bears these thoughts about his own culture.” 16 Feb 2002

“However, sometimes in his zeal to ventilate his objections to social developments and cultural changes, the estimable principal breaches the canons of scientific and erudite argument, making us ordinary mortals wish he would check the relevant sources and legal authorities before unburdening himself of anachronistic and uninformed judgments.” 27 Feb 2008

What we have is a scathing criticism of the man rather than a critical review of his ideas.  Even when someone actually attempted to criticize the idea, it seems that they still felt obligated to prefix or append the unnecessary insult.

Why do we respond this way? Why do we feel the need to insult and denigrate each other?  I have determined three principal reasons by observing human behaviour.

The first reason is that it is a way to elevate ourselves.  We can elevate ourselves through two ways.  One is through personal and professional development.  The other is not actual elevation, but relative elevation, and it can be achieved through pushing others down.  The motive appears to be fame.

The second reason is that it gives others the opportunity to experience our misery; as the proverb goes – misery loves company.  The motive appears to be selfishness.

The third reason is to discourage others from trying to accomplish their goals.  The motive appears to be hate.

There are significant emotional, psychological, and spiritual consequences for practicing this behaviour, and the practitioner appears to inevitably realize a state of inconsolable bitterness.  Once this state is reached, the only known remedy is for the person to be born again.

It is therefore important that persons desist from practicing this form of communication, and concentrate on educating their audience through encouraging a debate on the proffered opinion.  Trying to embarrass another person into silence educates no one.

The Worst House that the Code Will Allow

“If you built to the minimum standards of the Code, then you would only have achieved the worst building that the law will allow.” Tony Gibbs

The minimum building standards in the Barbados National Building Code (BNBC) are for persons who simply cannot afford to do any better.  To consciously build below these minimum standards is lunacy.  You not only guarantee a homeless condition for your family after a major earthquake or hurricane, but your house is likely to attract expensive maintenance requirements within 5 years of occupancy.

Homeowners and building contractors familiar with the BNBC may be tempted to adopt only the minimum standards, in the mistaken belief that complying with higher standards is prohibitively expensive.  I will therefore provide some guidance for home owners to achieve higher building standards at no or very little additional cost.  This should translate into a more structurally stable house that attracts lower maintenance costs.

The Design Stage

It is easier and far less expensive to make changes to a drawing than to a built structure.  Therefore, after you have received your drawings, critically review them.  Ask yourself:

• Is it what we really want?
• Are we happy with the layout of the bathrooms and kitchen?
• Are we happy with the location of lighting fixtures and windows?
• Are we maximizing natural lighting and ventilation?
• Are we happy with the ceiling heights, and size and layout of the closets?
• Does the house have the necessary shear walls at each elevation?

Now, more importantly, does your spouse understand the drawings?  If not, then use masking tape and layout the bathrooms, closets, kitchen and any other spaces as necessary.  Resist the temptation to be pressured into prematurely approving the drawings because you are getting frustrated with the progress.  Take your time to ensure that your spouse understands and approves the design locations and spaces.

The Construction Stage

Once you have approved the draughtsman’s or architect’s design, and the planning department has approved your development application, then your builder will set out or position your building on the lot so that he can excavate to find a stable foundation.

You should ensure that your house is accurately set out.  Your site plan should show dimensions from at least two corners of the building to the nearest boundary markers.  If it does not, then ask your designer to include them.  Once the builder has set out the building, check that the corner-to-boundary marker distances are in accordance with those on the site plan.

A stable foundation can be achieved by eliminating the risk of the building settling.  This means that you should excavate to a hard bearing layer.  If you have reached limestone, then allow the excavator operator to cut into the rock at least 75 mm (3″) in order to remove the weathered top section.  This can be done at no additional cost.

The Code specifies a 400 mm wide strip footing; however, builders normally use 600 mm, which is better.  The vertical wall reinforcement is 10 mm diameter reinforcing bars at 800 mm centres.  However, additional reinforcement needs to be placed at window and door openings and corners.  Take your time and check the spacing and location of the wall reinforcement.  Remember, it is your house.  The additional cost to perform this check = $0.00.  For clarification, there is insufficient reinforcement at the T-junction shown in the photograph above.

This is what happens when you do not measure carefully.

 

This is also what happens.  I travelled around Barbados searching in vain for an example of how it should be done.  The relevant autuorities need to arise from their slumber and acknowledge their responsibility to regulate industries that are out of control.  The residential construction industry is clearly out of control.

Concrete must be compacted, and a vibrator is normally used to remove the air voids to facilitate this compaction.  If concrete is not compacted properly, a condition called honeycombing results.  This condition can allow air, water and chlorides to reach the reinforcement and facilitate the corrosion process.  Compacting concrete should be done at no additional cost.

Concrete must also be cured to allow the chemical reactions that facilitate the hardening of the concrete and allow it to reach its design strength.  Concrete can be cured by keeping it wet continuously for 3 days, or by spraying the surface with a curing agent.  Ask your builder how he plans to cure the concrete.  If he does not know what you are talking about, then you are in trouble.  A house with a floor area of 280 square metres (3,000 sq ft) will require approximately 8 gallons of spray on curing agent, which costs under $300.

In beams and columns, bend the link ends into the beam and column in order to reduce the vulnerability to earthquakes and hurricanes.  Insist on this task which can be done at no additional cost.

Since I could find no examples of how this should be done, I bent the link end inward …

 

 and fitted it around the column’s main reinforcement so that the fabricator will know what to do.

 

This is where I found it last weekend.  Why do I bother?  Because I care.

Use the correct type of reinforcement.  The British BS 4449 is stronger, less brittle, and can bend around smaller radiuses without fracturing.  Since the American ASTM A615 is cheaper and weaker, you will need to use more of it to get the equivalent strength.  Therefore the cost difference should be negligible.

Reduce the rafter spacing from 600 mm to 500 mm to increase the wind resistance of your roof.  Your builder may not charge you any additional money for this; however, if he does, then for a 10 m (30′) long house, you will need approximately 6 additional rafters at approximately $80 each (2×6 Purpleheart).

Please do not rely on toe nails like this to keep your rafters in place during a hurricane.  If you do not install BRC rater connectors or their equivalent, then prepare to be homeless.  The cost of the rafter connectors will probably be under $100.

 

You should use hardwood or timber treated for insects.  The additional cost of using termite treated Pine for a 10 m (30′) long house is approximately $220.  The cost of replacing all of your roof timber structure could be approximately 100 times that amount.

Increase the frequency of roof fixings to 150 mm (6″) spacing at the hip ridges, eaves, and any gable ends.  The additional material cost should be under $200.  In the photo above, more fixings (like at the eaves) is required at the ridge, gable end, and another row at the eaves.

If you intend to use metal sheeting as a roof covering as in the photo above, then use 0.5 mm (24 guage) thick sheets.  The 0.4 mm thick (26 guage) currently costs $2.01 per square foot of roof area, compared to the 0.5 mm at $2.46.  Assuming a 1,800 sq-ft roof area, the additional material cost is $810. (The labour cost should remain unchanged).  This is significantly less than your annual insurance premiums are likely to be.

 

This is what can happen if the roof sheeting is too thin and/or there are no spacer blocks under the profile ridge connections.  Photo taken by author after hurricane Ivan in Grenada.

Regards,

Grenville

Related Articles on this site:

500 More Sub-standard Houses

The Construction Horror Show

Advice for Homeowners

Can We Achieve Affordable Housing in Barbados

The Worst House that the Code Will Allow

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Forthwith

 Like his predecessors, the Hon Christopher Sinckler is encouraging Barbadian service providers to export more.  We would like to, but we need his help.  Since Government is the largest service provider in Barbados, he needs to encourage his colleagues to improve the efficiency of those government departments with which we must interact.  One example should suffice.

The sticker that enveloped my road tax certificate was coming off of my windscreen.  I therefore moved it from the left side of the windscreen to my right so that I could periodically push it back on.  Later that day, before I could get to my insurance company to get a replacement sticker envelope, I was stopped by the police.  They informed me that it was an offence to drive with the road tax not displayed on the right side of the vehicle.  I acknowledged that I was not aware of the offence and offered to pay the fine.  I was told that I would have to appear before a magistrate.

I subsequently received a letter instructing me to appear before the magistrate on a specified date.  On the stated day, I attended the magistrate’s court as instructed, and took out my laptop computer to do some work while I waited.  I was told to put it away.  I therefore took out a note pad to write some correspondence, but was told to put that away also.  I therefore took out a typed report in order to edit it, but was told that I could do no work whatsoever while in the court room.  I therefore had to sit and listen to the cases before mine.

After most of the day had been spent, my name was called, and I stood in the dock.  I pleaded guilty and was fined $300 forthwith.  I went to the accounts section as ordered and offered my credit card to pay the fine, which they bemusedly refused.  I therefore took out my check book and inquired to whom I should write the check.  They told me that I had to pay cash.  I explained that I did not have that amount of cash on me.  They told me to either call someone or transportation would be provided to me, free of cost, to the remand section of the prison, because the magistrate stated that the fine was to be paid forthwith.

Not wanting to place my life in anyone’s hands, I asked whether I could go to the bank and withdraw some funds.  They stated that if I was not back within the hour, then a warrant would be issued for my arrest.  I therefore ran as fast as I could to Broad Street, found a bank, and waited in the ATM line for what seemed like a very long time.  After withdrawing the funds, I raced back to the magistrate’s court, slowing down while passing the Central Police Station lest I be delayed unnecessarily.  I made it back with 20 minutes to spare.

What is restraining me from spending my time exporting as the Hon Sinckler would like?  The time wasted waiting to receive frustratingly inefficient government services.  I am including government’s statutory corporations as agencies that provide government’s services.  How can this be improved?  There are so many ways.  Why not start with the following 5 initiatives?

1. Allow payments for government services to be paid by credit card and on-line.
2. Do not allow the majority of cashiers to take lunch between 12:00 noon and 1:30 pm when persons are trying to fit in paying their bills within their lunch hour.
3. Extend the hours that government departments can receive payments.
4. Allow drop off facilities for those who simply cannot visit the government department during the department’s normal working hours.
5. Allow the police to fine persons on the spot for minor traffic offences.  Those who wish to challenge the fines can spend their time in the court room.

Regards,

Grenville

Choosing A Career

Dear Readers:

I am addressing this article to students who are in their final year of secondary school and who may be feeling a little anxious about their futures at this time.  People thinking about choosing another career can also benefit.

Choosing a career can be a daunting task.  You may be in the career that you choose for the next 40 years of your life, so you should not choose carelessly.  Allow me to suggest the following selection method.

1.  Identify your Aptitudes First, I would suggest that you identify your aptitudes. They may be several things.  Identifying your aptitudes can be challenging since you must give each subject a fair chance.  Please do not judge your aptitude by the grades that you have received at school; they can be poor aptitude indicators.  A few examples may suffice here.1. You may not think that you like music if you were only taught music theory, but you may excel if you learnt to play an instrument “by ear’.

2. Similarly, you may not think that you like foreign languages, like Spanish, but you may excel if you learnt conversational Spanish.

3. You may find science subjects challenging; however, try reading your science texts from the first chapter until the end and you may be surprised at how easy the subject really is.
 

2.  Identify your Motives

After you have identified your aptitudes, identify some jobs that you think that you would find attractive.  Write them down and then ask your self, “Why do I want to do this job”. i.e. try to identify your motives. If your motive is principally to make money, then you may have identified the wrong job for you.  If your motive is principally care, then you may have identified the right job for you.  You must care about what you do rather than simply doing a good job and getting paid for your services.
 

3.  Get some Experience

It may be useful if you worked for a company (it can be a company of one) who offered the service that you found attractive. If they are not hiring, then offer to work for them for one month for free, explaining to them that you see it as an investment (and it is). If you have made that agreement, then DO NOT QUIT!  If you do quit, then that decision may follow you for the rest of your life. If you do not think that you can last one month without pay, then agree to work for one or two week without pay. Remember to explain that you are trying to choose a career, and therefore, you want to work in an environment that will help you to decide.
 

4.  Ask God to Guide You

Our national anthem states: “The Lord has been the people’s guide …”.  You are one of those people and therefore have the right to ask God for guidance.  However, while God provides the direction, you must provide the thrust and momentum.  The thrust, or the initial movement, is accomplished in the first three steps until you can secure any type of job.  The momentum is provided by you working with conscientious dedication to achieve the highest standards of competence at that job, even if it is one that you do not like.

When you are ready, God will guide you into the responsibilities that He has for you.  Therefore do not hold on too tightly to any one position of responsibility.  If someone else wants your job, then let them have it.  God will take care of you if you let Him.

Best regards,

Grenville

Royal Shop Dispute – When Hotheads Prevail

 I normally patronize the Royal shop at least annually and have always found it to be a pleasant and satisfying experience.  From a customer perspective therefore, the Royal Shop appears to be very well managed, and despite the current dispute, I intend to patronize them again.

I believe that the Royal Shop dispute is instructive to other employers in Barbados.  My fellow employers have called for “cooler heads to prevail”, and I agree with them.

In the Royal Shop dispute, a group of employees reportedly withheld their labour over an issue.  The issue appeared to be the dismissal of a fellow employee.

Employers generally train their employees to act as a team and support each other.  Employees are also trained to support the company with their labour.  If an issue arises that forces employees to choose which training follow, knowing that to support an employee over the company could result in their dismissal, then that issue cannot be considered to be insignificant to them.

If the dispute is properly adjudicated, then the employees may be found to have acted reasonably or unreasonably.  If the employees are found to be right, then they should return to their jobs and be paid for their time off of work.  If they are found to be wrong, then they should return to work with no pay for their time off, and should work overtime or as required in order to mitigate any company losses.

If a group of my employees walked off the job for whatever reason, and refused to return that day, then what would I do?

Firstly, I would acknowledge that my well trained and faithful employees apparently believe that their grievance is so intolerable that they are willing to risk losing their jobs over it.

Secondly, I would acknowledge that emotionally charged environments are not normally conducive to making rational decisions, and would defer any drastic decisions until the morrow.

Thirdly, I would remind the striking employees of our agreed dispute resolution procedures and ask them to return to work while the issue is discussed with their representative.

Fourthly, if they do not return to work, and are too disruptive to the functioning of the company, then I would close the company to the public for the remainder of the day, and ask them to return to work tomorrow while I discuss the matter with their representative. I would also remind them that if they do not return to work tomorrow, then their employment may be terminated.  I would also schedule some internal company work for those employees not on strike.  I realize that this action is dependant upon the type of service offered.

I would explain to their representative that I expect that the issue will be properly adjudicated in accordance with our agreement, and that the employees must to return to work the following day or be terminated in accordance with their employment contract.  I will also explain that if the issue is adjudicated in the employees’ favour, then I would abide by the adjudicator’s ruling as agreed.  If the employees are found to have acted improperly, then the time off will either be treated as unpaid leave, or paid vacation time.  Further, the employees must work overtime as required in order to mitigate any company losses during the intervening period.

I will remind myself that I am dealing with adult human beings, not children, slaves, nor animals.  They are my brothers and sisters and should be treated accordingly, even when they are being disciplined.  Every person makes mistakes, and refusing to work in protest to a misconstrued grievance qualifies as one of them.

What we have done is to give each side a choice and a face saving opportunity.  The employers can schedule some internal work with the non-striking staff or prepare to bring in replacement staff.  Meanwhile, the striking staff can have some certainty about their employment status while they go home to “cool their heads”.  With “cooler heads”, they can contemplatively balance their commitment to the disputed issue with their personal interests.  They may well have a completely different attitude and level of commitment after speaking with their spouses and families.

Terminating the employment of a trained worker is a traumatic act, especially when there is an unresolved bitter dispute.  The reasons for such termination should therefore be agreed by both parties in their employment contract.  I would consider termination for things like theft, violence towards other employees or clients, hiding mistakes, or abandoning work for a specified period of time but not less than 24 hours. 

In the current dispute, “hot headed” emotions have resulted in hasty decisions, unnecessary fractured relationships and the union’s predictable response.  Cooler heads were not allowed to prevail, and drastic and hot headed action was taken by both sides.  The way forward in my opinion is for all decisions taken while “heads were hot” to be rescinded.  I would suggest the following.

1. The Royal Shop should rescind their decision to terminate the workers’ employment.
2. Those employees who wish to resign should do so with the appropriate settlement and without acrimony.
3. Those employees who wish to remain should do whatever is necessary to repair the fractured relationships.  If they are unwilling to at least apologize, then they should agree to resign.
4. The reasonableness and legitimacy of the employees’ and employer’s actions should be properly adjudicated.
5. If the employers are adjudged to have acted correctly, then the employees should not be paid for their time off of work and the matter settled, otherwise, they should be paid and the matter settled.

The employer has legitimate concerns about loss of sales and damage to their reputation; however, those are the normal consequences of terminating employees without first trying to achieve an amicable reconciliation of the issue.  It is much better to give an employee the opportunity to resign quietly with some dignity, rather than be publicly terminated in a small island like Barbados.

Regards

Grenville

Can we achieve affordable housing in Barbados?

Barbados can easily achieve affordable housing; however, we are not achieving it for two principal reasons, each of which we are generally oblivious.

The first reason is that we are unaware that we cannot afford the substandard houses that we have built for the past 12 years.  The start of this current building boom saw inexperienced persons offering themselves as building contractors.  Fortuitously, national building standards were published 2 years prior; however, the inexperienced builders were not required to comply with them.

The second reason is that home owners do not plan adequately and therefore run out of money before the house is completed.  Home owners are normally unaware that they are building houses that they simply cannot afford.

I would recommend that potential home owners adhere to the following procedure to realize an affordable house.  The assumption here is that 100% of your construction budget will come from the mortgage institution.

1.  Go to your mortgage institution to determine the amount of mortgage loan that you qualify for.  It is critically important that you deduct an estimate of the bridging interest from this amount.

2.  Assume a construction cost of $250 per square foot of floor space. Then divide your actual loan by $250 and the result is the total floor space in square feet that you should tell your designer not to exceed.  Your house can be built for less than $250 per sq ft; however, you should have a buffer to deal with the risks associated with building like unforeseen ground conditions for your foundations.

3.  After carefully reviewing your design drawings, and obtaining Planning permission, select honest and competent builders by obtaining and checking references.

4.  Obtain a construction contract.  You can obtain a useful one from the Barbados Association of Quantity Surveyors for $15 (tel:246 228-0598).

5.  Obtain a copy of the Barbados National Building Code from the Barbados National Standards Institution for $100. (tel:246 426-3870)

6.  Include in the construction contract that the builder must not build below the minimum structural requirements of the Barbados National Building Code.  Complying with this standard can be done at no additional cost.

7.  Also identify in your contract a fair and technically competent adjudicator to whom both sides can refer disputes.

8.  Invite at least two builders to competitively bid on the project.  Before they provide their bids, ask them if they need any additional information.  You should ensure that the bidder is aware of the following: wall, floor, and ceiling finishes, roof covering, door and window types, lighting and plumbing fixtures, and the proposed construction contract.  If you have not decided on your fixtures, then ask them to quote for labour only on an assumed fixture.
9.  Regularly visit the construction site and see if you notice substandard work.  You can view some typical examples of substandard in the construction section of this website.  If your builder insists on doing substandard work, then dismiss him and find a more responsible builder.

10.  Do not pay your builder until he has completed each stage of work properly and in accordance with the national standard.

Regards,

Grenville

Published in the 25 February 2008 edition of the Barbados Business Authority.

Advice for Home Owners

I have come to the unfortunate realization that we are doomed to experience the misery and economic setback that other Caribbean islands experienced after being examined by major hurricanes.  These countries only paid attention to building standards after their buildings were weighed in the balance and found wanting.

I have given up hope that the Town Planning department will accept their responsibility to ensure that houses are both designed and built properly, until they actually see the devastation that they could have prevented.  I have also given up hope that the Ministry of Housing will accept its responsibility to ensure that their proposed 2,500 “units” will be anything but sub-standard.

During the past 12 years, I have rarely seen a house built that confirms to the minimum structural requirements of our national building standard.  It is very distressing to report that every one of those sub-standard houses could have been built properly at no additional cost.  There seems to be a strange belief among builders and homeowners that they can somehow realize good quality construction by simply wishing it to be so.

How did we get to this sorry state?  The start of this current building boom saw inexperienced persons offering themselves as building contractors.  This was a well known practise, and therefore it was critical that building standards be effectively enforced.  Fortuitously, the Barbados National Building Code had been published approximately 2 years prior; however, for some inexplicable reason, the inexperienced builders were not required to comply with these minimum building standards.  A timely opportunity was therefore squandered as the relevant authorities refused to accept advice continually offered during the past 12 years.

I have decided to no longer publish articles on the substandard building practises in Barbados.    If there is a single builder in Barbados building structurally safe houses, then please contact me and I would happily publish the construction photos and promote your business free of cost.

I will use this final article on substandard building to inform home owners of what to look for and what to do if they find it.  Most of the photos were taken within the past week.

This is a good start.  Found the building on solid rock.

Notice the layer of topsoil at the surface.  This will compress, therefore do not allow your builder to build upon it.  If he insists, then dismiss him.  The underlying layer is a mixture of predominantly clay and gravel sized soil.  The clay will compress, but it might also swell if it gets wet.  To avoid the risk of the building settling or rising, you should found the building on the rock.  If you do not believe me, then believe the Great Master Jesus who noted that wise men build their houses on rock if they wish them to survive natural hazards.  I believe that He indicated that you are just short of an idiot if you allow your builder to do otherwise and expect the same result.

The builder has excavated to rock, then placed fill on the rock and compacted only the top layer.  The builder will try to justify doing this by stating that it will give him a relatively flat surface upon which to build.  However it is in violation of the building code and introduces the unnecessary risk of uneven settlement.  If he does not found your house upon the rock in accordance with Jesus’ advice, then dismiss him and find a builder who believes.

You should have your builder drill down at least 3 m (10′) to ensure that you are not on a cap rock or over a void.  Remember, we do live on a predominantly limestone island.

The thickness of the footing should be at least 200 mm (8″) for a single storey house and 250 mm (10″) for a two-storey house.  Here we have 150 mm (6″), and below it is 100 mm (4″) which is clearly insufficient.  If he does not rebuild this properly at his own cost, then dismiss him.  You will save yourself a lot of unnecessary grief.

This concrete was not compacted properly, and a condition known as honeycombing is the typical result.  This honeycombing can provide a path for moisture and air to reach the reinforcement and facilitate its corrosion.  If he does not correct this at his own cost, then dismiss him and find a responsible builder.

Here, there is insufficient concrete cover protecting the reinforcement so that its corrosion is almost guaranteed.  If he does not repair this at his own cost, then dismiss him and find a responsible builder.

Regrettably, this will soon be covered up and the home owner will be unaware that the foundation is sub-standard.  Within a few years later, this home owner will be calling for an Engineer to find out why the house is cracking up.

If this is what your builder is doing, then ask him to redo it properly.  If he refuses, then dismiss him.  Why needlessly put your family at risk during an earthquake or hurricane because of his substandard work.

Partial knowledge is just as ineffective.  He filled the block’s cores correctly, but did not include the reinforcing bars.

This is what you want to see.

 

Here, the builder has only one side of each window opening reinforced.  I do not believe that he is intentionally doing work which he knows to be substandard, rather, I believe that he simply lacks the knowledge.  That is why the failure to require builders to follow national building standards is such an unnecessary tragedy.  BNBC 2.425.5 (b) specifies one 12 mm diameter bar either side of each opening.

This house is likely to be structurally unstable during a hurricane or earthquake.  Over 90% of houses built during this building boom are similarly structurally unstable.  They are not expected to survive the first major earthquake or hurricane.

I cannot blame the builders for this structurally unsafe practise, for they are simply building what is on the approved plans.  The fault lies with the inexperienced architects and draughtspersons who designed the houses, and with the Town Planning Department who should never have approved the sub-standard designs in the first place.  Unless your house has been designed by a structural Engineer, it should comply with the specified minimum structural requirements of the Barbados National Building Code (BNBC).

The BNBC (section 2.405.8) specifies that external walls must have shear walls to resist lateral forces from Earthquakes and Hurricanes.  These are to be one 3 m (10′) wide wall from foundation to roof level at each face of the house, and it must not contain any window or door openings.  If one 3 m wide shear wall is inconvenient to the design, then two 2.0 m (6′-7″) wide ones are permitted.  You are welcome to look in vain for such houses built during the current building boom.  What is more distressing is that to accomplish this would have cost all of $0.00.  You should therefore review your drawings and get the designer to make the necessary corrections with dispatch.

This is where a lot of damage is done.  There are basically two types of high tensile steel reinforcement that have been used during this building boom, the British Standard BS 4449 and the American Standard ASTM A615.  Since the American steel is 85% cheaper, builders prefer it.  However, one cannot simply substitute one type for the other.  The British steel is approximately 10% stronger; therefore if you want to use the American standard, you need to use more of it which makes the cost approximately equivalent.  In the photo above, the link ends should be bent into the beam.

The structurally unsafe aspect of the American steel is realized when it is bent around radiuses specified for the British steel.  The American standard steel needs larger radius bends and tends to fracture when bent around smaller radiuses.  This means that the beams and columns will likely be ineffective when they are needed most.

This is how roofs are typically built in Barbados and it complies with the BNBC.  However, it is vulnerable to high winds.

 

This is what happened in Grenada during hurricane Ivan in 2004.  I informed the relevant authorities that it was found to be ineffective near the start of this building boom.  However, to-date, they have not issued the necessary errata warning persons not to use it.  If your builder insists on using this roof connection, then insist on hurricane straps.  Ensure that they are made of stainless steel in order to avoid corrosion and their subsequent replacement.

Make sure that the frequency of roof connections are increased at the eaves, gable ends, apex, and hip ridges.  They should be at most 150 mm (6″) apart in the shaded areas and at most 300 mm (1′) apart in the clear areas.  Finally, do not pay your builder until he has built each stage of your house properly.

Best regards,

Grenville Phillips II

Related articles by Grenville Phillips II:

500 More Substandard Houses

The Construction Horror Show

Can We Achieve Affordable Housing in Barbados

The Worst House that the Code Will Allow

Weapons of Mass Destruction

The Construction Horror Show

The Government of Barbados has several roles.  One critical role is to regulate industries that are out of control.  The residential construction industry is out of control.

We have been fortunate as a country to have had a Government with the vision to establish national building standards.  The Barbados National Building Code was published 15 years ago, just before the current unprecedented building boom.  The Code includes much of the technical advice that the following professionals normally provide their clients:

• Civil Engineers
• Structural Engineers
• Mechanical Engineers
• Electrical Engineers
• Architects
• Planners.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the Government has not required that builders follow the national building standards.  In my opinion, requiring builders to follow the minimum building standards does not require the proclamation of any new laws.

Last weekend, I visited some residential building construction sites hoping that I would see some improvement in the residential construction building practices.  There was little good construction available for me to photograph, but the ubiquitous sub-standard construction completely filled my 1 Gigabyte memory card.

I cannot blame the building contractors, not the artisans they employ.  I believe that they are simply doing the best that they know how.  They need to be aware of and comply with the minimum national building standards.  Who is to make them comply?  I believe that is one of the Government’s roles.

Your medical doctor may be gravely concerned when she examines an X-ray of your chest, or she may recoil in horror when examining the blood laboratory test results, but you may examine the same and conclude that all is well.  Why?  Because you were not trained to interpret the evidence.  I will try to help you to interpret the following photographic evidence from various construction sites at different stages of construction.

Photographs – Copyright 2007 by Grenville Phillips II.  All Rights Reserved.

After setting out the building on site, the builder should excavate the area of the footings until he reaches a good bearing material.  He has found a sound coral formation at a shallow depth.  Very good.

The builder then builds form work to support the concrete strip footings.  Very good.

But what is this?  Oh please no!!!! (like all good horror shows, you get a peek at the monster before he is revealed in all of his gory).

The builder has placed a layer of marl fill on top of the good foundation bearing rock.  He has therefore introduced the unnecessary risk of the building settling and the resultant cracked walls.  He has also introduced unnecessary work which is translated into additional project time and cost.  Quoting the national standard: “Footings shall not bear on fill material.” BNBC 2.504.4

Oh good grief no!  The labourer has obviously taken great care in cutting this foundation trench by hand.  However, he has stopped before finding rock, which is a mere 150 mm (6″) below this.  He has introduced almost certain foundation settlement and the resulting cracks in the walls and floor, including any ceramic or stone floor tiles.  It would not have cost any more to ask the labourer to excavate an additional 150 mm to the rock.

What the ???  The corners of the wall are not tied together properly.  Let me show you how the building code specifies that it should be done.

Not tying the structural building elements together properly can result in the building shackling out and collapsing during hurricanes and earthquakes.

Oh dear!  The builder cannot properly compact the 600 mm (2 ft) thick layer of fill – it should be compacted in 100 mm (4″) layers.  In addition, placing that fill on the topsoil is almost guaranteeing the settlement of floors with the resulting cracked ceramic or stone tiles.  The national standard states that this type of floor “shall be prepared by (a) removing top soil and any organic material; … (d) filling with granular material, if necessary, in layers of 100 mm …” BNBC 2.507.2

Compacting the top layer of fill only compacts the top layer of fill – not the underlying layers.  Therefore expect settlement of the floor with the resulting cracks.

No vertical wall reinforcement, therefore the wall is vulnerable to collapse during an earthquake or hurricane.  The National standard states “Loadbearing block walls shall be reinforced vertically with minimum 10 mm mild steel bars at 800 mm centres throughout the wall.” BNBC 2.405.2 (c)

Structurally unstable wall – no shear panel.  Therefore vulnerable to collapse during an earthquake or hurricane.  BNBC 2.405.8

If the wall reinforcement is not accurately located …

… then the wall is not properly reinforced and becomes vulnerable to collapse during an earthquake or hurricane.

This is gruesome.  The national standard states: “No horizontal or diagonal chases for pipes or conduits shall be permitted unless specified by the designing engineer.” BNBC 2.405.3.

Pressure testing the water pipes for leaks – excellent!

Like I said, I have 1 GB of photos, but I do not have the time to transfer and comment on them all.  I shall therefore adjourn here and resume on another post later.

Regards,

Grenville Phillips II – Chartered Structural Engineer

500 More Sub-standard Houses.

Whenever I am driving through a new housing development, I habitually stop and inspect the building construction work.  Sometimes I photograph what I observe.  I have yet to observe a house being constructed to the minimum structural standards of the Barbados National Building Code.

It is less expensive to build a house to the standards of the Building Code than how builders are currently build houses in Barbados.  Therefore, cost is not a valid excuse for non-compliance.  Why then do builders build substandard houses?

Builders build sub-standard houses because they are generally unaware of how easy it is for them to actually build them properly.  The reason why they are unaware is that most of them have never read the national building standards, which were published approximately 15 years ago, and is still sold by the Barbados National Standards Institute for $100.  The reason why they have not read the building standards is because the Government does not require that houses in Barbados be built properly.

The new DLP administration has promised, in their manifesto, to build 500 houses in 500 days.  Will they be as sub-standard as the ones built by the last administration?  I have inspected houses being built for the Government last week and can confirm that so far, nothing has changed.

The photos that follow show the national misery that we are currently preparing Barbados for.  This is what approximately 75% of houses in Barbados are expected to look like.  They are photos taken in Grenada following Hurricane Ivan in 2004 were approximately 85% of houses were severely damaged or destroyed.  Be prepared.

Regards,

Grenville Phillips II – Chartered Structural Engineer

 Photographs – Copyright 2004 by Grenville Phillips II.  All Rights Reserved.

Almost total roof loss and loss of contents.

 Loss of walls and contents.

  

 Loss of roof and contents.

 Total property loss

Only the foundations can be salvaged.

 

Neighbouring propereties can offer limited assistance. 

 

 The Governor General’s residence – loss of walls, roof, and contents.

Main Church – total roof loss and contents damaged.

Giving Professional Advice

Dear Readers:

The recent issue with the Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES) poll and Cave Hill Associates Polling Organisation (CHAPO) poll is instructive for professionals and their Clients.  The CHAPO poll was popular, supportive of the then ruling political party, apparently backed by the University of the West Indies, and wrong.  The CADRES poll was unpopular among the then ruling political party, the pollster vilified, but the poll was accurate.

The CHAPO poll was wrong because it was based on a critical assumption which was not verified before the advice was given.  Rather than seek to subsequently verify this assumption, especially with knowledge of the CADRES poll’s stated assumptions, the CHAPO pollsters spent the time defending their poll.

All professional advice is based upon the interpretation of evidence.  Each professional is trained to examine evidence related to their professional discipline.  When interpreting evidence, professionals make various assumptions, which may or may not be correct.  Conscientious professionals normally take the time necessary to identify and verify each of their assumptions.

Sometimes a client may request that advice be provided urgently, before the professional has verified the assumptions made.  In such cases, preliminary advice is normally given, and the assumptions are subsequently checked.  If the assumptions are found to be incorrect, then the advice is withdrawn.  If the Client has acted upon the poor advice, then new advice is given in order to, inter alia, mitigate any consequential damage.

Pride should never prevent a professional from withdrawing and revising previous advice when it is found to be unsupported by the evidence.  Since professionals are liable for any quantifiable damage arising out of the advice that they give, it is imperative that all professionals be conscientious.

Regards,

Grenville

Manage what you Understand

Congratulations to the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) for securing the government.  Barbados has an unprecedented opportunity.  For the first time in our history, we have an Engineer elected to serve in Parliament on the government’s side.  Actually there are two Engineers and I am elated to the point of jubilation.

I believe that it is about time in Barbados’ development that Ministers of Government have some working knowledge of the Ministries that they are given to manage.  If persons are asked to manage what they do not understand, then they risk causing severe damage if they change policy.  These managers therefore tend to simply do nothing and allow things to continue as they were – only intervening when things are clearly out of control.  I am therefore hoping for the following political appointments.

Prime Minister – David Thompson

Attorney General – Fruendal Stuart (Lawyer)

Minister of Health – Esther Byer Suckoo (Doctor)

Minister of Public Works – Richard Sealy (Civil Engineer)

Minister of Energy – John Boyce (Mechanical Engineer)

Minister of Education – Patrick Todd (Mathematics Teacher)

Minister of Agriculture – James Paul (Agriculturist)

Minister of Sport – Ronald Jones (Educator)

Minister of Culture – Colin Spencer (Entertainer)

Minister of Economic Development – David Estwick (Doctor)

Minister of International Business – Donville Inniss (Businessman)

Minister of Housing and Lands – Michael Lashley (Lawyer)

Minister of Foreign Affairs – Denis Lowe (Clinical Psychologist)

Minister of Trade – Chris Sinckler (Trade Specialist)

Minister of Consumer Affairs – Haynesley Benn (Manager)

Minister of Tourism – Austin Husbands (Businessman)

Minister of Social Transformation – Irene Sandiford Garner (Journalist)

Of course the DLP is under no obligation to consider my selections; however, I do hope that they will accept the principle of “managing what you understand”.

Regards,

Grenville

Securing My Vote

Dear Readers:

Let me declare that I not a member or supporter of any political party.  Last election, I endorsed two politicians, one from the DLP and the other from the BLP.  This election, I only received the manifestos from the respective political parties this weekend, and have therefore had limited time to critically analyse them given that tomorrow is election day in Barbados.

Let me congratulate these two political parties on running exciting election campaigns, and for offering attractive incentive manifesto promises.  Barbados is therefore fortunate to have such a high standard of political campaigning, and essentially free of violence.

Both political organisations have put forward reasonable arguments of why they should be allowed to lead the next government. On the one hand, we have the Rt Hon Owen Arthur, who has done a remarkable job of managing the country during challenging times, and who suggests that we should trust him and his party to continue.  On the other, we have a party that has been in opposition for the past three terms and who believe that it is now their turn at the helm, since they cannot be expected to remain in opposition for perpetuity.

In order to make a decision on where to cast my vote, I had to ask myself whether there was anything that a political party could have done in order to secure it?  There were several things, and any one of them would have secured not only my vote, but my active support.  I list below my principal four.

1.  Since the party in opposition in every country always accuses the party in power of mismanagement, and since the efficient running of any business relies on the effective management of government services, then why not simply ensure that each government department complies with an effective quality management system.  Why is that such a difficult thing?  I have recommended the ISO 9001 Quality Management System for some time now, but none of the political parties have harkened.

2.  Since the party in opposition in every country always accuses the party in power of corruption, and since government corruption is of critical concern to international lending agencies, and since government corruption can guarantee its citizens a fearful, violent, and miserable existence, then effective anti-corruption legislation is required.  However, effective anti-corruption legislation in Barbados would clearly be dependant upon effective Whistleblower legislation.  Regrettably, none of the political parties have proposed the critical Whistleblower legislation which would have increased the likelihood of their anti-corruption legislation being workable.

3.  The spiral educational curriculum, which was developed in 1960 and subsequently adopted by Barbados, has proven to be a costly failure; however, we have persisted with its use.  Also, the physiological assumption upon which the decision to pursue a co-educational learning environment at secondary schools in the 1970’s was based, has been proven to be false, with damaging consequences for our male students.  Yet we have persisted with these practices despite their blatantly obvious failures, including approximately 70% of our secondary school students leaving school with little evidence of having attended – i.e. without passing any subjects.  No political party has proposed a critical review of this spiral curriculum; however, the DLP’s promise to re-examine co-education within the first 100 days is encouraging.

4.  There have been approximately 1 billion babies that have been murdered in the womb of their mothers worldwide over the past 25 years.  Not because the life of the mother was in jeopardy, or because of rape or incest, but because irresponsible persons have convinced women that they have a right to kill their babies in the womb, if they feel that caring for their babies would inconvenience them.  In my opinion, abortion for convenience, as a method of birth control, is way beyond wrong – it is evil.  Regrettably, none of the political parties have articulated their position on this practise.

Since none of the political parties has articulated their position on any of the four critical items, they have not secured my vote.  I will therefore enter the voting booth tomorrow unsure of where to cast my ballot, and do as my conscience dictates.  

Regards,

Grenville

Protecting Barbados from a Culture of Corruption

Dear Readers:

Government corruption is a major problem in many countries worldwide.  Governments who allow and engage in this practise essentially guarantee their citizens a miserable, fearful, or violent existence.  An examination of Government corruption shows that it is normally started by politicians and senior civil servants, and then becomes practised by companies and employees.

Once Government officials agree to receive bribes, then those businesses that normally do business with government, must either participate in the practise of paying bribes, or they may not survive.

Once a business has crossed that moral threshold of paying bribes, then they will likely demand that bribes be paid by those who wish to do business with them.  So the small service provider is forced to cross this critical threshold as well, and participate in this demoralizing practise.

Eventually, the cost of consumer goods and services will increase.  Consumers must therefore supplement their income in order to pay for goods and services.  Therefore, individual employees will likely demand that bribes be paid in order to give priority to specific work assignments.

The unemployed must therefore resort to violent robbery in order to obtain money to pay for all of the bribes, and responsible persons who do not participate in the corrupt practises will likely become destitute.

Government corruption is therefore started by short sighted politicians who have not learned from places like Nigeria.  Therefore in order to survive, every person must participate in the national culture of corruption.

Fighting Government corruption has become a principal concern among international funding institutions.  Many countries have enacted legislation to attempt to address this problem.  Both of our political parties have promised to introduce legislation in order to address corruption.  This is a good first step; however, the risk of it being an ineffective first step in Barbados is extremely high.

Effectively fighting Government corruption is, inter alia, dependent upon the cooperation of a senior civil servant who is aware of the practise, but who fears persecution.  Therefore, legislation to fight corruption will likely be ineffective if there is not adequate protection and incentive for those who are in a position to report corruption.It is therefore critical that Whistleblower or Disclosure Protection legislation is enacted at the same time, otherwise the problem of corruption will remain despite the proclamation of corruption fighting legislation.

Disclosure Protection legislation should include the following minimum provisions.  

  1.  A reward of 10% of any bribery money confiscated as a result of reporting a claim of corruption.

  2.  A penalty equivalent to the amount of the expected reward for any fraudulent report.

  3.  A compensation of 10 years salary to be paid by the employer for unfair dismissal resulting from reporting a legitimate claim.

 In my opinion, our political parties are interested in protecting us from the potential culture of corruption described above if they enact effective Disclosure Protection legislation.

Regards,

Grenville

Statesmen are Preferred over Politicians

Dear Readers:

Since we will shortly be choosing a Government on 15^th January 2008, let me reproduce an article by Mr Lawrence Reed.  I received his permission to do so.  In my opinion, it is an excellent article and very relevant to Barbados at this time.

Regards,

Grenville

“A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.” —Thomas Jefferson

The term “politician” isn’t a popular one, even with politicians. Most people would agree that to be labeled a “statesman” is a much higher compliment — and that we need fewer of the former and more of the latter. There’s a general sense that statesmen lift us up, while politicians let us down. This column will seek to foster a climate which will produce more statesmen and fewer politicians, so let’s begin with some observations about what distinguishes one from the other.

Statesmen are a big cut above politicians, who seek office for thrills or for power or because they like the attention it brings them. Some politicians are better than others, but statesmen rise above mere politics, that meat grinder of principles. The clever politician knows how to manipulate power for personal advantage, but the statesman’s allegiance is to loftier objectives.

Statesmen don’t seek public office for personal gain or attention. Like George Washington, they often are people who take time out from productive careers of accomplishment to temporarily serve the public. They don’t have to work for government because that’s all they know how to do. They stand for a principled vision, not for what they think citizens will fall for. When a statesman gets elected, he doesn’t forget the public-spirited citizens who sent him to office and become a mouthpiece for the permanent bureaucracy or some special interest that greased his campaign.

Because they seek the truth, statesmen are more likely to do what’s right than what may be politically popular at the moment. You know where they stand because they say what they mean and they mean what they say. They do not engage in class warfare, race-baiting or in other divisive or partisan tactics that pull people apart. They do not buy votes with tax dollars. They don’t make promises they can’t keep or intend to break. They take responsibility for their actions. A statesman doesn’t try to pull himself up by dragging somebody else down, and he doesn’t try to convince people they’re victims just so he can posture as their savior.

When it comes to managing public finances, statesmen prioritize. They don’t behave as though government deserves an endlessly larger share of other people’s money. They exhibit the courage to cut less important expenses to make way for more pressing ones. They don’t try to build empires. Instead, they keep government within its proper bounds and trust in what free and enterprising people can accomplish. Politicians think that they’re smart enough to plan other people’s lives; statesmen are wise enough to understand what utter folly such arrogant attitudes really are.

Have you ever felt that in spite of a long campaign and lots of speeches, you learned essentially nothing from a particular candidate? That one was a politician. I prefer the statesman: the man or woman of substance who, win or lose, had the courage to lay it out straight.

Politicians are characters, but statesmen have character. A statesman is a man or woman of integrity, honesty and candor. You actually learn something good from what he says and how he conducts himself. When a politician leaves office, he’s largely forgotten. When a statesman departs, we know we’ve lost something.

Michigan doesn’t suffer from a shortage of politicians. First and foremost, it needs a citizenry that is vigilant about the nature of government and its proper role in a free society of responsible adults. That’s the sort of citizenry that then has the wisdom to produce statesmen.

Lawrence W. Reed is president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.